3.12.2016

Making Our Homes Our Sanctuaries: De-cluttering~

Hello Lovelies!

During my last post on making our homes our sanctuaries, I promised that I would be back with practical ideas for creating the feeling of relaxation and sanctuary within our homes. So today I'm going to talk about one of the best ways to accomplish this...de-cluttering.

Take a moment and think about places you have been that have given you feelings of serenity and peace. I bet the places that come to mind are all places that are clean and organized. Clutter free spaces help to keep anxiety at bay.

A place for everything and everything in its place.

I find it difficult to relax if there are messes or clutter around me. I admit that this is not the case for everybody, but the majority of people feel calmer in clean, organized spaces.

So let's talk about de-cluttering.

There are endless articles and posts on organizing and de-cluttering. So rather than give step by step plans for "how" to do it. I want to share two quotes that I personally use as guiding principles for what to keep and what to get rid of.

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

- William Morris

Be a ruthless editor of what you allow into your home. Ask yourselves, " What does this object mean to me?"

-Nate Berkus

Using the criteria that things should be useful, beautiful or meaningful as reasons to keep them allows for memorabilia, collections, and other possessions (that might otherwise be considered clutter) to remain.

For example, my youngest son loves rocks. LOVES them! He has a very large collection of rocks that he thinks are amazing. If I were just getting rid of clutter, I'd likely throw them out. But since he thinks they are beautiful and since they are important to him, they stay. And the fact that his beloved rock collection is housed in his bedroom, helps to make his bedroom a place that he loves to be - a sanctuary.

A few of my son's favorite rocks

See how that works?

We rid our homes of clutter by getting rid of things that aren't important, aren't attractive, or have no meaning. In exchange, we hold on to things that have meaning to us, that we think are beautiful, or that we use. Our homes become places where all of the things we love and find important are kept...which makes our homes even more special to us.

Interesting how that works. Am I right?

I LOVE books...most of these are decorating books...they make me happy!

So my challenge to you this week is to start de-cluttering using your own personal criteria...feel free to use my criteria if you want! I bet you'll love the results!

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